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Krov
It is widely acknowledged that there are no race more dubious, no race more questionable, and no race more morally vague as the Krov. Even the Dark Elves find this people to be untrustworthy and suspicious. While the Dark Elves fight for what they believe is right, even if they do it in a rather tactless way, no one knows quite what exactly the Krov are fighting for, except for themselves. The Krov are described as humanoid beings at the core, pale of skin, and with most features like that of a Human. However, what sets them apart visually is the pair of goat-like horns that curls around their ears, eyes yellow and narrow like that of a cat, a nimble and furry tail which works as a fifth appendage, and the tongue of a snake. Their appearance has always been a strange, enigmatic kind, for that is exactly what the Krov are: enigmatic. Their entire race is engulfed in mystery and questions, most of which the Krov either do not know themselves, or do not want to answer. The Krov are often quite withholding of information about themselves, whose side they are on, and what they have in mind. This, more often than not, makes them canny traders, even if they stay within the boundaries of mortal law... which is another thing they don't often stay true to. In Krov society, rules and laws are often overlooked and ignored. Most moral and ethical guidelines are seen as either pointless and unreasoned, or even non-existant. In Krov society, a murder, for example, will not have nearly as much impact as in any other society. If there are any consequences at all to crime, it is often from the violated themselves or their family, who will come seeking revenge - often in the form of murder, regardless of what crime they sought revenge for. Over the years they have spent on their new home, the Krov have never quite grown accustomed to this mortal law nonsense, and have found themselves often in quite a lot of trouble for it. But that is not to say that all Krov are burglars and thieves. Quite the opposite, in fact. Looking aside from dismission and disdain of ethics and morals, the Krov are known for another thing: arrogance. The Krov are extremely family-bound, and will do anything to prove that their family is stronger, wealthier, and smarter than any other family. Even Krov think that Krov are arrogant. Because of this, there are no elected 'kings' or 'emperors' in Krov society, simply because one Krov will never admit that another Krov is better than them. Far most of them also see the rest of the sentient races as inferior in every way, simply because Krov are Krov. Nearly all Krov families are considered 'Noble', not always because they have done something to earn that title, but because they have somehow managed to rake enough money together to become as rich as any other noble houses, and thus just as powerful. Needless to say, the Krov are often disliked for their arrogance and their greed, but there is more reason than merely so, why the Krov are seen with skepticism and waryness. Many find this fact quite concerning, and even frightening, and with good reason. It has been speculated if it is not simply something similar, but both priests and scientists cannot deny it. It seems, to the horror of many religious men and women, that there is not one Krov who is not a bloodsucking vampire. But unlike the vampires in Nightweald, the Krov are not insane. They maintain a perfectly functioning mind, and the hunger for blood will only become a slight nagging, rather than an all-consuming need. Most Krov will even pay to receive a steady supply of blood in containers from other sources, simply because they don't want to go out and kill someone to get rid of the annoying nagging in their bodies. Even so, most Krov would rather simply go out into the woods and draw blood from an animal, rather than having to go through the hassle of dealing with mortal law, simply because they emptied an inferior fool of their blood. And oddly enough, even though the laws of Belin dictate the exact opposite, even male Krov are vampires. Of course, the Krov have been very withholding as to why they can maintain their sanity and defy the laws of a Netherlord, but over the years, the truth has seeped out into books and word of mouth. The resistance towards the vampire curse, and the very strength of all Krov, lie in an essential part of their body: their blood. In Krov society, blood is all. Blood is life. Blood is alpha and omega, and all Krov are nothing but blood... according to them. To the Krov, their bodies are but vessels for their blood, and their very identities are their blood. While most scientists may claim that the center of all bodily function and life is the brain, any krov will stalwartly claim that it is the blood. And not without reason, actually. It is no mere conviction or superstition: there truly is something about their blood that is unlike any other. The blood that courses through their body looks like any other, but it bears a strength that makes the Krov superior to other races in many ways. One fact is that Krov are resistant to a large number of diseases that affect the blood, simply because their blood overpowers the disease before it can evolve. This also means that inbreeding is never an issue in Krov society, simply because their blood is strong enough to defeat the negatives. Another fact is that, if a Krov were to breed with someone of another race, their child would be born as fully Krov. There would be not a trace of the other side's blood in, even if the child was held in the womb of a mother who was not Krov. It will be born with pure Krov blood, and the Krov believe this is simply because their blood is so strong and noble that it shuns from mixing with blood that is not their own. Because, while the Krov believe in different blood in different families, all Krov blood is, in fact, the same. Religion Not surprising, Krov religion all revolves around the thing they hold so dear: blood. After arriving in this new world, the Krov have managed to set up churches to their own religion, which most priests here believe to be unorthodox and even heretical. While the Krov acknowledge that there are gods and spirits up there, pulling the strings and keeping everything together, the Krov do not believe in a heaven nor a hell. This is one of the reasons why the Krov do not shy away from immoral or downright evil acts: in the end, foul Krov will end up the exact same place as law-abiding Krov. This afterlife is a plane where all Krov are blended together in blood, become mixed around, and reshaped into a new Krov. This place goes by the name of 'The Bloodstream', and is the source from where all Krov strength comes. The Bloodstream, however, is a limited resource, and has only enough blood to fill a certain amount of bodies, according to Krov religion. This is why the Krov believe that over-population is a bad idea, mainly because it, in fact, is impossible. When The Bloodstream's supply of Krov blood runs out, any Krov who tries to breed will find that simply nothing happens, because they have no Krov blood to summon. Breeding is therefore considered a religious act, because it communes straight to The Bloodstream, and draws enough to fill up a body. However, if there is no blood to give, there is no Krov to make. When one Krov tries to breed with another Krov, nothing happens, but if a male Krov tries to breed with a female of another race while The Bloodstream is empty, the mother will die. Because of this, most non-Krov believe it is seen as playing with fire while trying to breed with Krov, because it might happen that they will end up with a bloodless creature inside of themselves, which is neither Krov nor anything else, and will only end up as poison when it rots inside the womb of the mother. But when one Krov dies, it is said that their blood will ascend to The Bloodstream, where it will be born again as a child. Of course, no memory is kept from the previous body the blood filled, because all blood in The Bloodstream is unpersonal, and may be split up to fill more than one body. And because of the sacredness of blood, blood-transfusion is seen as the worst kind of heresy possible, and any Krov who is forced to mix blood with a non-Krov will find themselves dishonored until those who stole their blood is dead, and they themselves are. No Krov could bear to live with the thought of walking around with non-Krov blood in their veins. But sadly, while the Krov are known to be superior and strong in life, in death, they are as weak and vulernable as lambs. This happens right after they die, in fact. As stated above, when a Krov dies, it is said that their blood will ascend to The Bloodstream, where it will be mixed around and reincarnated. But in the time-span between death and ascension, an interesting process known as 'the blooming' happens. Mere moments after a Krov dies, a flower will begin to sprout from their chests. It grows incredibly fast, and the process takes no more than a day to complete. The flower will grow, and it will continue growing until several hours have passed, and it blooms. It blooms into a deep, blood-red dress of petals, said to be the most beautiful thing mortal eyes can see. Unsurprisingly, this flower is known as the 'Bloodflower', for many reasons. As it grows, all the blood of the Krov body will move into this flower, and sustain its growth, right up until the blooming happens. However, while the process as a whole takes several hours, the blooming lasts only twenty minutes or less. It is common Krov burial tradition to watch uninterrupted for this length of time, and pay one's respects to the last specks of beauty that the deceased will show. And when the flower wilts, religion states that the last bits of blood will have ascended, and all that is left is a pile of lifeless flesh. However, more than once there have been tales of horrendous acts of heresy, where the flower has been dug from the chest of the Krov and put in a bowl of water and earth, thus kept from wilting. What this means is that the blood will not ascend as long as the flower is kept alive, and the deceased will not find peace. This is often seen with lovers who cannot let their deceased love go, and thus keeps them in their homes, too weak and frightened to accept that they are gone. And other times, it is simply an act of evil. Unadultered, vicious, heretical evil. History As stated above, the Krov are a people wreathed in mystery and enigma. Almost nothing is known about the Krov, even throughout all the years they have been in this new world. All that is known about the Krov, is this: they are not from here. The first reported sighting of a Krov, was in the eastern jungles of the Jemero Keys, where a Krov family had been shipwrecked, in the year 1143. They did not speak the tongue of this world, and only through the omni-lingual art of magic could they communicate with the natives. The Krov were of course quite confused about this new place, in which they had never been, and the strange people here who were black of skin, had no horns, no tails, no fangs, oddly blunt tongues, and round pupils. The Krov were kept on the Jemero Keys for a while, held secret from the rest of the world, while the witch doctors of a nearby village tried to understand who and what they were. The father of the family, Vyacheslav Zakadiev, agreed to tell a little about their past. He told about how they came from a land far to the east, miles off the map we all know today, a place called Krov-Domoj. He told about the landscape there, how cliffs tore the earth apart, how deserts left life barren, yet towering reptiles walked these shattered lands. He told about how, even through this danger, the Krov prospered, simply because their blood gave them the strength to do so. And finally, he told about how his family had been swept away from their homes by a violent storm and spent weeks at sea... before they landed here, on the shores of the Jemero Keys. But the Krov family whom the witch doctor spoke to was, as to be expected, very withholding of information. They told no more, still skeptical towards this new world, and because of that, the witch doctor decided to introduce them formally to the world, show them their new home. Not everywhere were they embraced, often because of their inborn vampirism, and even to this day, many Krov will still claim that they are 'getting to know you'. However, through sourceless whispers and rumors, some more information about the Krov seems to have leaked into the ears of 'weak-bloods', as the Krov call everything that isn't Krov. Though it has been declared that it is their superior blood that has saved the Krov from becoming madmen under the influence of the vampire curse, it has long been a mystery if they have always carried this curse, or if it has been inflicted upon them, until just recently. It is said that, in the year 505 ABT, the Krov faced a violent, voracious disease known as 'The Bloodbile', which turned the strength of the Krov blood against them, as one of the few diseases that could actually manage to infect it. Their blood became foul, and thousands of Krov died over the course of three years. Worst of all, once the blood was cursed, it could never become one with The Bloodstream again. And since the Krov blood is a limited resource, it would be impossible to repopulate those who died under the effects of The Bloodbile. It is because of this, that Krov are a rare kind, and consider themselves so inherently 'precious'. However, as is obvious, not all Krov were killed, and with good thanks to one Krov scientist-mage known as 'Alexei Advonovic'. Advonovic was one of the first to experiment with netherworldly powers, and was the first man to discover the possibility of fusing wraiths with The Bloodstream. Advonovic knew that this would either contaminate all Krov with unending insanity, or it would strengthen their blood to become strong enough to overpower the disease. However, it had to overpower the wraith influence first, before it could begin to overpower The Bloodbile. Knowing that all Krov would certainly die if he did not do it, Advonovic was left with no choice but to carry out his experiment. This took place in the year 508 ABT, and was what finally put an end to The Bloodbile, after three years of suffering and death. However, from that day on, the Krov began to grow fangs, and the lust for blood began to take its toll, making them what vampiric beings they are today.